West mother files lawsuit against West fertilizer plant

2013-04-23T22:46:21Z2013-06-22T23:14:05Z

TYLER, TX (KLTV) -

A West mother has filed a lawsuit against the fertilizer plant, with the help of a Tyler law office.

It is one of the first lawsuits filed by an individual since the explosion, and the plaintiff is asking for up to $1 million. Another lawsuit has been filed by four insurance companies. Both suits name Adair Grain and West Fertilizer as co-defendants.

Adair Grain was the name of the plant before it was changed to West Fertilizer.

Randy Roberts with Roberts & Roberts law firm says the woman the lawsuit describes is a single mother with a 14-year-old son. While she and her son are thankful they still have each other, they've lost absolutely everything else and want someone to be held responsible.

"This is a picture of the backside of her apartment complex. It faces the fertilizer plant. Fortunately, she had walked out onto the opposite side of the apartment complex just before the explosion. As you can tell, if she had been inside the apartment complex, she may not be here today," Randy Roberts explained while flipping through photos of the damage in West.

Roberts says his client's life has been turned upside down. This weekend he met her in central Texas to help her get back on her feet.

"We got her into another apartment, we got her into another car and we've got her son into another school, but there are a lot of people out there who are having a much more difficult time getting their lives put back together," he said.

In the lawsuit filed Monday, Roberts & Roberts alleges that the fertilizer plant was negligent.

While investigators on the ground in West are still drawing their own conclusions, the firm is certain someone should be held responsible.

"Plants like that don't just explode. We know that something was done wrong. We don't know the details, but there is no doubt that corners were cut and things were done wrong," said Roberts.

Roberts says the decision to file the lawsuit so quickly was spawned by a weekend statement released from the owner of Adair Grain. Randy says his client is disappointed that the plant did not acknowledge responsibility for the explosion, nor did they provide temporary assistance to the people affected by the explosion.

The Tyler ISD board has approved the renderings of renovation plans for John Tyler and Robert E. Lee high schools. In May, a $198 million-dollar proposal was passed with 83% of Tyler residents in favor. According to Tim Loper, Tyler ISD’s Director of Facility Services, the plans are designed to give both campuses a new face, have a 21st century design, enhance current programs, and ease traffic flow in the surrounding areas. Cameras are currently used in the high schools, but...More >>

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